My thanks and appreciation to my very skilled editor, Erik Thread, who has patiently worked with me to make this story cohesive and readable. Any errors are mine.
Nina Novak was the older of two sisters, brought up in a modest home in the Bronx. Her mother, Ursola, and father, Janos, were the children of refugees from the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Their parents had escaped in the chaotic aftermath and had landed as legitimate refugees, first in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and finally settling in the City of New York.
The Hungarian community gathered together to share their experiences at the Magyar Neighborhood House. It was there that Janos first met Ursola, discovering they both went to the same school. They began dating when Ursola turned seventeen and finally got permission from her parents.
After graduating from high school, Janos signed on as an apprentice carpenter and found work at a local millwork shop. He supplemented his income with after-hours work in the neighborhood.
By 1964, he had saved enough for a down payment on a small house, and Janos asked Ursola to marry him. With their parents' permission, their life in America was now confirmed. Both daughters were born in that little house. First Nina, named in honor of the ship that discovered America and hence, in her mother's mind, their wonderful new lives. Magda came along two years later. Ursola and Janos had their perfect life.
Nina graduated from high school and after several frustrating weeks looking for work, finally went to a temporary placement agency. They tested and interviewed her thoroughly. Within a week, they found her a temporary job as a receptionist at a small law firm.
Nina had developed into an attractive, five-foot seven-inch, dark haired beauty. She had an aura of self-confidence about her and took to the receptionist's job instantly. She handled calls deftly and was unfailingly polite, even when the party on the other end of the line was angry or distraught.
The firm was so impressed with her that they offered her a permanent job and moved the existing receptionist into another office. At nineteen years old, Nina had found a career.
She had been working at the law firm for three years when she first noticed the tall, handsome young man who frequented the same elevator at the same time each morning. She didn't know his name, but she knew she got off on the ninth floor, while he continued on to the fourteenth.
Nina was late getting to work one day, having taken a half-day for a dental appointment. As she arrived at the bank of elevators, she saw the familiar figure of a man standing by himself, also waiting for a car. She entered it immediately after him.
"Nine please," she said, as he looked back at her in question.
He pushed the button and then his own, turning toward her.
"I was wondering when we would meet," he smiled. "I'm Tony Marino." He held out his hand to her.
"Nina ... Nina Novak," she stammered, taking his hand.
"Who do you work for?"
She named the law firm and told him she was the receptionist.
He told her the name of the brokerage firm he worked for.
"Well, now that we're properly introduced, would you like to have dinner with me on Friday?"
"Uh ... uh ... yes!" she blurted.
The elevator stopped at the ninth and Nina stepped out with Tony right behind her.
"I can't very well take you out if I don't know where you live or what your phone number is," he grinned.
"No ... no ... I guess not." Scrambling, she pulled a blank business card out of her purse and quickly wrote her phone number on the face. "I live with a girl-friend in a studio apartment near Morris Park. Call me," she said as she turned and virtually ran into the safety of the office lobby.
She didn't see Tony's smile as he pushed the up button on the wall.
At four-thirty that afternoon, Nina Novak answered the lone incoming call.
"Moulton, Baines and Associates," came the lovely, clear voice.
"Hi, Nina. It's Tony ... from the elevator."
"Oh ... hi. I was just thinking about you," she finally managed.
"I wondered. I'm sorry I ambushed you like that. I would never dream of asking you for a date before we had even met, but ... I ... I couldn't stop myself. It just came out," he said nervously.
"You surprised me. I'm not even sure why I said yes, but ... I did say yes, didn't I," she admitted in her soft voice.
"Yes, you did and you made me a very happy guy. The reason I called, I wondered if I could buy you a coffee in the café downstairs ... after work. I should at least give you some assurance that I'm not some stalker or serial rapist or anything sinister."
She laughed. "I'm off at five. I guess if I'm going to go out on a date with you, I should at least know something about you. I'll meet you in the café."
"Great," he replied.
That was the beginning, and less than a year later they were married. Nina maintained her receptionist job and Tony continued to rise at the brokerage firm. When Nina became pregnant with their first child, Benjamin, she took a leave of absence, stating her intention to return to the law firm at some time in the future.
She was just about to return when she discovered she was pregnant with their second child, Nadia. At that point, she admitted to Tony she was destined for the role of mother and housewife. Their third child, Jared, only confirmed her decision.
-0-
Tony had risen to middle-management at CM&D, and his salary and bonuses provided the Milano's with a good home and a comfortable lifestyle for an early-thirties couple. He had invested wisely himself and had a healthy 401(k), as well as tax-protected savings for the children's education.
His elevation to vice president was inevitable and the salary and perks that came with the job put them in an upper income bracket. They moved to Westport just before Jared started school. As so many of their neighbors had, they enrolled all three children in private schools.
The Nantucket house was purchased when it became available at a lower-than-market price by a financially stressed client of Tony's. It had proved to be another good investment in the run-away housing market of the early twenty-first century. If they were prudent, they had enough investments and property to secure them for the rest of their lives.
But, as with most idyllic situations, there was a catch. Tony had been caught up in the race to the top and was demonstrating signs of stress. He snapped at Nina and the children with little provocation. Increased responsibility had brought increased wealth, but there was little evidence that either he or the family were enjoying it.
His discovery of fraud at CM&D prompted him to begin collecting evidence and documenting it on his office computer, then transferring it to his computer at home. When Stanton Mellows stalled and avoided taking immediate appropriate action, he called Carter Woolman at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
He had met Carter at an investment association convention in Washington a couple of years earlier. They had seemed to be on the same wavelength when it came to regulatory change, especially after WorldCom and Enron.
And then ... awakening in the hospital.
Chapter 5:
Nina carefully skirted around the issue with her children about why she wanted to go to the city for the weekend. She mumbled some vague words about looking for their father. Mrs. Martinez would look after them. Nadia was having a sleep-over at one of her friend's houses while Jared was going to a college football game with a neighbor's family. They would be well occupied until she returned on Sunday afternoon.
